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Kidnapping in Afghanistan: Two Action Against Hunger (ACF) Humanitarian Aid Workers abducted
19 Jul 2008 09:13:00 GMT
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18 July 2008 - Two French humanitarian aid workers for Action Against Hunger / Action contre la Faim (ACF) were kidnapped Friday, 18 July at 1.00am in the town of Nili in Afghanistan (Day Kundi Province). The kidnapping took place in the compound where the ACF team was sleeping. According to ACF knowledge, the two expatriates are alive.

The two kidnapped staff members are part of a team of 250+ local and expatriate aid workers providing relief to Afghan communities at risk of acute malnutrition. They were kidnapped from the base in Nili (the capital of Daikondi Province), which is located in central Afghanistan, about 310 km from Kabul.

ACF has suspended its current relief operations in Afghanistan, which last year helped more than 130,000 people. The organisation's primary concern at this point in time is securing the release of the two kidnapped staff members. A crisis unit has been set up in Paris and in Kabul.

ACF in Afghanistan

ACF was originally founded in 1979 specifically to help Afghan refugees. In 1995, ACF launched its first relief operations within the country, starting in Kabul and Pansheer; it has continued to be one of the leading humanitarian aid organisations in Afghanistan to the present day.

About ACF

Action Against Hunger / Action contre la Faim (ACF) is an international humanitarian organisation committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and their families in over 40 countries worldwide.

Press enquiries: 0033 (0)1 43 35 82 22 / 0033 (0)6 70 01 58 43

ENDS

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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Policemen stand at the site of an explosion outside the gates of the Pakistani consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat July 31, 2008. A bicycle bomb outside the Pakistani ...



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